Generally, washing machines are appliances to wash laundry placed in a washing tub, by agitating the laundry inside the washing tub in the presence of wash water and a detergent.
The washing machine includes a motor, a water tub, the washing tub, a pulsator, and a detergent feeder. The water tub contains wash water therein. The washing tub is rotatably set in the water tub, with the laundry to be washed being placed in the washing tub. The pulsator is rotatably projected from a bottom of the washing tub, and agitates the laundry in the wash water. The detergent feeder is provided at a predetermined position above the water tub, and feeds detergent into the wash water fed from an external water source.
The washing machine is operated as follows. First, the laundry is loaded into the washing tub. The wash water, mixed with the detergent fed from the detergent feeder, is supplied to the water tub. When the motor operates in such a state, the pulsator rotates in alternating directions to agitate the laundry in the wash water, thus washing the laundry.
Recently, there has been developed a washing machine having a colloidal silver maker to add silver ions into wash water while the wash water is fed into the water tub, thus producing colloidal silver which kills germs on the laundry while washing the laundry. Therefore, the washing machine with the colloidal silver maker has both antibacterial and bactericidal effects.
The colloidal silver maker includes a pair of silver plates to which a predetermined voltage is applied. When the wash water passes through the silver plates, the silver plates dissociate the silver ions into the wash water by electrolysis of the silver plates, so that colloidal silver is produced and fed into the water tub.
The washing machine with the colloidal silver maker allows the laundry to be washed by the wash water in which the silver ions of a predetermined concentration are dissolved thus killing germs on the laundry.
However, the conventional washing machine with the colloidal silver maker has a problem in that the colloidal silver maker and the detergent feeder are separately manufactured and then separately installed in the washing machine, so that assembling work to mount the colloidal silver maker to the washing machine is required, in addition to assembling work to mount the detergent feeder to the washing machine, and thus increases in an assembling period and assembling costs of the washing machine are incurred.
In the conventional washing machine with the colloidal silver maker, the wash water passes through the colloidal silver maker and the detergent feeder so that the silver ions and the detergent are added to the wash water, prior to being fed into the water tub. Thus, the colloidal silver maker must be connected to the detergent feeder.
Therefore, the conventional washing machine with the colloidal silver maker has another problems in that an increase in assembling period is incurred to connect the colloidal silver maker to the detergent feeder, and the wash water may leak through a junction between the colloidal silver maker and the detergent feeder due to a water pressure or repeated use, thus deteriorating reliability of the washing machine.